Perceived Control, Motivation, & Coping

Ellen A. Skinner

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 1995
• Print ISBN: 9780803955615, 9780803955608
• eBook ISBN: 9781452246741
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Developmental Psychology
• Index: Psychology

At every point in the life span, individual differences in a sense of control are strong predictors of motivation, coping, success, and failure in a wide range of life domains. What are the origins of these individual differences, how do they develop, and what are the mechanisms by which they exert such influence on psychological functioning? This book draws on theories and research covering key control constructs, including self-efficacy, learned helplessness, locus of control, and attribution theory. Ellen A. Skinner discusses such issues as the origins of control in social interactions; environmental features that promote or undermine control; developmental change in the mechanisms by which experiences of control have their effects on action; and the implications for intervening into the competence system, including interventions for people in uncontrollable circumstances. Written at a level appropriate for upper-division undergraduates, the book can serve as a supplement to the social and personality development course as well as a core text for motivation, educational psychology, or clinical courses at the graduate level. This book won?t be the first one on the topic, but it will be the first one that professionals and graduate students turn to whenever they want a definitive opinion on complex questions of control or an idea for cutting-edge research on the topic of motivation, coping, and control.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Series Editor's Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I - Meta-Theoretical Assumptions
• Chapter 1 - What Is Perceived Control?
• Misperceptions About Perceptions of Control
• Challenges to the Study of Perceived Control
• Chapter 2 - What Is the Need for Competence?
• When Needs Are Acquired Versus Innate
• Arguments Against the Need for Competence
• Implications of a Needs Theory
• Part II - Constructs of Control
• Chapter 3 - Are All Perceived Control Constructs the Same?
• Four Major Theories of Perceived Control
• Constructs in the Competence System
• Chapter 4 - Who Needs a New Conceptualization of Perceived Control?
• The Conceptualization
• Beliefs Specific to Domain and Developmental Level
• Profiles of Perceived Control
• Part III - Antecedents of Perceived Control
• Chapter 5 - What Are the Origins of Perceived Control?
• Perceiving Control
• Opportunities for Control
• The Role of the Individual in the Generation of Control Experiences
• The Origins of Individual Differences in Sense of Control
• Chapter 6 - How do Social Contexts Promote and Undermine Control?
• Structure Versus Chaos
• Elements of Structure Versus Chaos
• Conclusion
• Part IV - Consequences of Perceived Control
• Chapter 7 - Why Does Perceived Control Predict Everything?
• When Does Perceived Control Work?
• How Does Perceived Control Work?
• Why D oes Perceived Control Work?
• Where Does Perceived Control Work?
• Conclusion
• Chapter 8 - How Does Perceived Control Work During Times of Stress?
• A Needs Analysis of Coping
• Perceived Control and Structure as Psychological and Social Resources
• Conclusion
• Part V - Development of Perceived Control
• Chapter 9 - How do Individual Differences in Perceived Control Develop?
• The Cycle of Perceived Control and Action
• Implications of Interindividual and Intra-Individual Analyses
• Interindividual Differences in Change Over Time
• Individual Differences in Developmental Change
• Chapter 10 - How Does Perceived Control Change With Age?
• Processing of Control-Relevant Information
• Conceptions of Causes
• Regulatory Beliefs
• Domains of Control
• Action and Action Regulation
• The Development of the Competence System
• Part VI - Intervention into the Competence System
• Chapter 11 - Is More Control Better?
• The Negative Effects of Increased Control
• Perceiving Control in Uncontrollable Circumstances
• Conclusion
• Chapter 12 - What are the Dangers of Intervening Into the Competence System?
• When Control Is Available: Setting up Opportunities for Control
• When Control Is Possible: Regaining Control
• When Circumstances are Uncontrollable: Finding Control
• Conclusion
• Part VII - Empirical Study of Perceived Control
• Chapter 13 - How do I Decide Whether to Include Perceived Control in My Research?
• What Are the Anchors?
• What Are the Mechanisms?
• What Is the Frame?
• What Are the Constructs?
• What Are the Measures?
• What's the Good News and the Bad News?
• Conclusion
• Chapter 14 - What Are the Future Research Issues in Perceived Control?
• Mechanisms
• Beyond the Constructs of Control
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• References
• Author Index
• Subject Index
• About the Author